Slugs Fight Back in the Final Minutes to End in a 1-1 Tie

Friday, October 2

Belton, TX

5:00 PM

UC Santa Cruz Athletics

4-3-0, 0-0-0

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

3-3-3, 2-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
UC Santa Cruz	0	1	1
Mary Hardin-Baylor	0	1	1

10/2/2026 7:52:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BELTON, TX – The UC Santa Cruz women's soccer team finished in a dramatic 1-1 tie against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday evening. Going into the matchup, the teams posted similar records, and the game showcased those similarities in the evenly matched contest. Susanaitzel Juarez-Mancera headed a ball to score the only goal for the Banana Slugs in the evening off of a perfectly placed corner kick from Cassidy Segrell. The goal from Juarez-Mancera is her first of the season and the third of her career so far with the Banana Slugs. Holding things down in the goal, Ainsley Gove scooped two saves to help UCSC remain with only one score against them on the night. Up next for the Banana Slugs, they will travel south to Georgetown to face Southwestern University on Sunday, Oct. 4th at 11:00AM CT / 9:00AM PT.

How It Happened
From kickoff to halftime, the Banana Slugs and Crusaders battled with no team able to break through. Gove recorded a save in goal on the first shot attempt of the night in the eighth minute of play, and safely secured possession for the Slugs to give early confidence on the defensive side of the ball. UCSC responded next, taking their first shot attempt in the 12th minute by Kathleen Byambasuren. The first shot on goal came shortly after for UC Santa Cruz, but Juarez-Mancera couldn't break through to the net to score. Juarez-Mancera recorded another shot attempt less than a minute later at the 18-minute mark, but another save was earned for the Crusaders. Both teams traded shots for the remainder of the half as the fight stayed at 0-0 to end the first 45.

The second half opened with both teams staying aggressive as Juarez-Mancera took the first shot of the half for either squad. Her near miss forced a save for the Crusaders and kept the Banana Slugs searching for a tally on the scoreboard. After a well-executed corner kick, the Crusaders scored the first goal of the match during the 49th minute and remained onto the lead for what seemed like the game-deciding goal at the time. UCSC kept their composure and kept working through their offense to produce high-quality shot attempts. Shots from Juarez-Mancera and Amaya Espardinez challenged UMHB, but the Banana Slugs couldn't find the net in either kick. UCSC finally broke through on a perfectly executed corner kick from Segrell that set Juarez-Mancera up in prime position for a header goal to put UCSC on the board for the equalizing goal with less than four minutes remaining. Neither team could get another shot off before the final whistle.